Inconvenient Fireworks
by infinite-repeat
Summary: When Leslie announces the Twilight screening after the time capsule is covered in dirt, Ben feels like maybe he should go.


Ben feels a little stung when she brings it up.

"You're leaving soon - can I blame it on you, in the press?"

He never told her about the extension. Why should he? She didn't ask, so he didn't tell. No one said he wouldn't be around until the Harvest Festival, which is how long he and Chris decided to stay. He thinks Leslie assumed so all along, as he no longer fixes the government's budget as much as oversees the payment plan for concession stands full of caramel apples.

But, uh, it still hurts a little. She says it without a flinch, and well... he kind of feels like flinching.

She's been hard to read, which is weird, because with Leslie, it's all on the surface. When she's pissed, he gets an earful. When she's happy, so is everyone around her. But he gets this weird combination of both, this strange concoction of secret smiles and loud words, and he doesn't really understand what it all means. She's under stress, and he gets that. He knows what it feels like to have your career on the line... god, he really does. He knows what it's like when your optimism gets trampled on. And he knows what she thinks of him... He'd just hoped that she would stop thinking it.

It's been a while since she's called him Mean Ben, or a jerk, or an ass. The name calling has come to a halt. She's been generally friendly since the flu passed. But it's hard to shake the feeling that she doesn't like him, because he's still calling a lot of financial shots, and he still has the power to eliminate her department if this doesn't all work out.

So he doesn't mind taking the fall, because he's been taking it for months and at least she cared enough to ask this time. That's more than he's usually granted from victims of his budget slashing.

But it gets him thinking, after the meeting is over and Leslie's come up with a brilliant solution to a problem yet again. He's been here for a few months and the idea of leaving just seems... weird. Back in Indianapolis, he still doesn't really have a real home, just a crappy little apartment that he never even decorated because he's never around. He doesn't really have friends there, or any reason to go back. No one is happy to see him when he returns, and there's never anyone in his and Chris's office, waiting to ask questions and demand results.

Even when they're being horribly irrational and unbearably quirky, the people in Pawnee just give a shit, and it's refreshing. It's nice to feel needed, even if only as a punching bag. He can see why Leslie thinks her department is so important, because to these people... it kind of _is. _

So, by proxy, the Harvest Festival is even more important than he'd been treating it. And well, he can't bail on that. And that's why he's staying (he's telling himself).

He needs to get to bed, anyway. There's a time capsule to bury tomorrow.

;;

Leslie hadn't really thought about Ben leaving before that slipped out. She just needed a way to calm everyone down so she could figure this time capsule business out, and Ben had been so helpful lately, and she hoped that maybe he wouldn't mind taking the blame for things, because that's basically what he does for a living.

She only recently realized that, because she'd spent all summer being so angry at him for ending the budget meetings so he and Chris could figure things out on their own. All she had gotten to do was present the case for her department, and then wait all those months to hear the verdict. And even though she wanted to be mad, she realized that Ben got her Freddy Spaghetti, and kept her team together, _and_ is giving her this opportunity to really help Pawnee, so really, not everything is his fault. He just lets people think it is, and maybe she feels a little bad about it.

Okay, so yeah, she does feel bad, but she doesn't really know how to tell him that without feeling strange about it. It was weird enough handing him his tupperware back the day she came back to work; she just kind of handed it at him and mumbled her thanks, telling him the soup was delicious. He seemed proud. He smiled. He has a nice smile.

But anyway, it's weird to think about him leaving. She's kind of used to him now. It's only been a few weeks since she got her job back, but Ben's been hovering around constantly, and she's used to the lengthy discussions about carnival rides over bag lunches in the courtyard. She's learned that it's a lot nicer to just be normal with him, because sometimes he actually tells her things, like how his favorite carnival ride as a kid was the tilt-a-whirl, and then she sees him as a person, rather than budget slashing machine.

Was he even going to stay for the whole Harvest Festival? She always assumed he would, as her career is kind of riding on this thing, but he's been around Pawnee for quite a while. Doesn't his job have lots of traveling and dream-crushing involved? She hasn't really seen him help other departments in a while. Then again, it's not like she's keeping tabs on him at all times or anything. She isn't a stalker, jeez. Get off her back.

She wonders what the Harvest Festival would be like if he wasn't around for it. Maybe he wouldn't care enough to come; it's not like this is his town. It's not like he really works for this government. He doesn't even really live here. It's not like they're really friends... although, well... she isn't sure.

She just knows that she really, really wouldn't like it if he didn't come.

She doesn't stop to consider what that means. She's got a speech to write, a packet to print up, a banner to create, and maybe some sleep if there's time. There's a time capsule to bury tomorrow.

;;

When Leslie announces the Twilight screening after the time capsule is covered in dirt, Ben feels like maybe he should go. Trust him, sitting through two hours of teenage vampires isn't exactly his idea of a well-spent Saturday night, but he was kind of involved in this whole time capsule thing, so he should probably show up to this. . And Leslie probably doesn't want to see the movie either, so maybe he could keep her company. And Chris is going to be there anyway, eliminating any other possibilities for a Saturday night in Pawnee, so. Whatever. He's going.

Everyone's chattering when he shows up; Leslie is busy jabbering with Ann, Chris is talking up some people by the concession stand. He feels a little awkward, like maybe he's forcing himself into this world a little too much. No one really talks to him, except Ron who offers a, "Hello, son," before helping himself to an overflowing french dip. He just sets up his chair behind Leslie's, as he's not sure where else to go and maybe she wouldn't want him sitting next to her when all her friends are here.

She doesn't notice him until after she's sat down and gotten comfortable under her afghan. It's by accident; she turns around to say hi to Donna, and catches his eye. He thinks she looks a little shocked to see him, and he's not sure if that's good or bad, so he just smiles and nods in her direction.

"Hey there!" she exclaims, smiling back, and he notices that he had been holding his breath.

And then she's turning back around, and Tom's coming over and plopping down between her and Ron, and Ben knows that he's not really part of this family. He's just an observer. And now he's got to observe some vampires in high school.

A few minutes into the movie, Leslie turns around again, just to roll her eyes at it. He laughs; things could be worse.

;;

She's surprised to see him... It's not like he was required to be there. She knows she doesn't really want to watch Twilight, after only ten pages of the book put her to sleep. Vampires in rural Washington, really? She'd rather spend an evening at Hogwarts, thank you very much.

But she really didn't expect him to show up. Everyone else usually tagged along to places - and a free movie night where food was involved was something they were all on board for. And they were like family, anyway. But doesn't Ben have a life and interests besides vampire movies on chilly fall evenings in a park that's barely being maintained with the budget allocated for it?

Anyway. It's not like she isn't pleased... it's kind of nice to know he's probably not enjoying this, so she can discreetly roll her eyes when Bella is being annoying, making sure Tom or Kelly can't catch her. When he laughs, Tom loudly shushes him, and she quickly turns around. But she feels a little better.

If he came to a stupid showing of Twilight, he'd come to the Harvest Festival, right?

Right, of course. Ben's kind of a nice guy. She's finding herself admitting that more and more. She's running out of excuses to be mad at him for anything these days. It's actually irritating.

But as for after the Harvest Festival... well, she'd worry about that when the time came.

;;

She fell asleep sometime during the movie, because when the credits start rolling and everyone else is cleaning up, Ann is gently shaking her shoulder. Ben just pretends like he doesn't notice, folding up his lawn chair and kicking a little at the marks it left in the grass. He feels like he shouldn't really leave without saying goodnight to her, or commenting on the movie or something, but he's just kind of stuck. He unzips his jacket, fiddles with the lawn chair again, checks his phone, zips his jacket back up.

Leslie must be up by now, because Ann is folding up her blanket and Chris is waiting to leave. Ben just awkwardly walks over to bid Leslie goodnight, waving at the others as they go, but she's rubbing her eyes all sleepily and just exhales back into the chair and looks up at him.

"I dreamed that vampires came to the festival and tried to get Ann, and we tried to save her but you cut garlic out of the concessions budget."

"Oh," he says flatly, like that's completely normal. He's getting used to the kind of childish nonsense that sometimes comes out of Leslie's mind. He even likes it, sometimes. Although... she's dreaming about him slashing numbers, now?

"I'm not mad at you or anything," she assures him, like she assumes that naturally, that would be his first reaction.

"Of course not," he replies, and then just feels a little strange for hanging around. Most of the Parks folk have left or are on their way out, though Ron's got a watchful eye on Leslie like he's looking out for her. Ben's still floored by how much these people care about each other, but he smiles at Ron to let him know he's got this covered.

Ron nods like he's passing the buck over. Ben suddenly feels like there's all this weight on his shoulders.

"Did the movie suck?" she asks him, still not moving from her seat. He hesitates before answering, and decides to pop his chair back open. She watches as he sets it down next to her, taking a seat before answering.

"They sparkle in the sun."

"What?"

"The vampires. They sparkle."

"I can see why Tom likes this, then," she says, totally serious, and Ben looks around for someone to share his amused smile with. But the lawn's empty now.

He watches her as she just looks around the park, the last families getting into their cars. Her eyes span the ground like this is the greatest thing she's seen in a long time. Eventually, they make their way back to him, and he's caught gaping at her.

"Uh-"

"It's just really great to see the parks back in full use," she says, her voice holding a note of pride that he decides he doesn't get to hear enough. "Thanks for letting us do this."

"Sure," he says, and shrugs. Lame. Why is he being so lame? This is ridiculous. Just talk to her, dammit. But he notices that hey eyes are a little misty.

He's seen Leslie angry, he's seen her thrilled. He's seen her drunk and delirious and desperate. But he's never truly seen her sad. And suddenly, he remembers why he's Mean Ben.

;;

He's being kind of quiet, but she figures that she's usually doing all the talking. It takes a few minutes for her to separate her dream world (those fangs were terrifying) from what's going on around her, and she knows everyone else has left. But her blanket is so warm and sometimes Ben's just nice to talk to and she's finding herself not wanting to move when he sets up his chair next to her.

And this night... she just wants to sit here and soak up the park. It's been a long time since she's been allowed to do these things for the town. It's been since Freddy Spaghetti, actually. And well, she kept blaming Ben in her mind, but he's the one that keeps letting her do these things...

That means something, right? Besides the fact that she's been wrong about so much lately.

Her head kind of hurts.

"Are you staying for the festival?" she asks, against her better judgment. It comes out before she can think better of it, and she isn't sure if the thought is better lingering in the air between them or when it was running circles in her mind. He isn't really looking at her, but he exhales loudly, and she doesn't know if that's good or bad.

"Yeah," he says, and she sighs in relief. "I mean, I have to watch the budget, and..."

He trails off, and a little part of her is upset. She picks at the edge of her blanket, wondering if maybe she should just let this be and go home. Neither of them are talking now, or even looking at each other, and she feels silly, like when she was a kid and she asked her mom too many questions about City Council. Like maybe it wasn't her place to question these things.

"I really like Pawnee," he says a few minutes later. She glances over at him, and he looks like maybe it's the first time he's said that out loud. She isn't sure what to say, but she's smiling, and it feels weirdly personal. In a good way.

;;

So, she does care about him staying or not. Which... he guesses he'd hoped all along. But it catches him off guard, and he isn't sure how to answer, so he stammers out some bullshit about the budget.

He feels horrible immediately, because he knows that isn't it. It's just... this whole town... and her... everything just makes him want to be better. Not in the same way that he wants to be better when he balances budgets. But in that way where he wants to take this weird town and fix all their problems just to put a smile on everyone's face. On her face.

"I really like Pawnee."

Shit.

This is getting silly, now. He's gotta keep it together. But now she's smiling like she was at the meeting yesterday, and that smile is what gets him to do stupid things, like consider Twilight for a town's time capsule. Maybe he likes more than just Pawnee. But maybe is all he'll say. For now.

She looks chilly, and he notices that her nose is a little red (stop that right now, look somewhere else), which makes him feel guilty for keeping her outside. Not that she's made any move to get up, but really, she should probably get home.

"Hey, maybe we should go. Don't want you getting sick again."

She looks surprised again, like she's constantly forgetting that he's kind of started to care. He's secretly really pleased with himself when he gets that reaction. But yes, he's right; she just got over the flu and doesn't need this crisp air.

"You're right," she says. "Thanks." She tugs the blanket off her lap, shoving it into the bag at her side. He's already up with his chair folded, and she just looks really tired, so he offers his hand to help her up. She stares at it for a second, and he's wondering if this was an awkward mistake, but she smiles and takes it and he tugs.

It was an over-tug, and she ends up knocking into him on the way up. He feels her hand on his chest, bracing herself from completely toppling into him, but there's hardly any space between them and his hand is still clasped around hers.

He doesn't know how to react. She isn't moving, and he doesn't know if she'll fall if he takes a step back. Which uh, is _exactly_ why he's staying put... except that her hair is really close to his face, and it kind of smells like peaches, and then she's looking up at him like she's seeing him for the first time and he's letting go of her hand and cautiously moving it to her waist and-

Fuck it.

He leans down as much as she leans up and then he's kissing her. She tastes like Skittles, the red kind, and she's opening her mouth and how did his hand get in her hair and really he's lost control over anything that's happening. He thinks about how she's probably on her tip toes to reach him and awkwardly laughs into the kiss, prompting her to pull away, which is when he realizes her arms are wrapped around his neck and god, this actually just happened.

"What?" she asks nervously, like she thinks he was laughing at her.

"You're short," he says simply, smiling sheepishly. She looks like she isn't really sure what's going on here, so he just cups her face and draws it back to his. He can feel her cold nose pressing against his cheek and one of her hands is playing with his hair a little, and their legs are kind entwined from how she fell forward, and she's kind of licking her way in, and god, he doesn't even care about anything anymore.

;;

She's flushed when they finally break apart again, and she feels strange when she wipes her mouth on her sleeve a little, and he's still laughing as he looks down at her, so she buries her face in his windbreaker. Stupid Ben. Stupid, adorable, good kisser Ben...

What is going on?

"Stop laughing!" she insists, but now she's giggling too, and they're both just two idiots laughing in an empty park at night. She's clinging to him around his middle, and his arms are around her and she just feels really warm and, like, this doesn't actually feel as weird as she thinks it should. Even though this is Ben, and she spent the longer part of her summer hating him, well... You don't try to build an Ice Town without having a little heart along the way (she read that on a movie poster or something).

"We should probably get you home," he says, and even though it's the last place she wants to go, she's feeling a little sniffly and knows he's right. She looks up at him and nods, and loses her breath a little when he kisses her again. But it's quick and sweet and then he's waiting for her to lead the way.

"I parked over there," she says, indicating the direction with her head.

"Me too."

They break apart, and she's instantly colder and kind of missing him. Even though he's right there. Is that a normal thing? How weird. But nice? She shakes her head to clear it, grinning as he grabs her chair for her without asking.

"Thanks."

"Yup."

They walk toward the parking lot together, and he shoves her chair into her trunk. As she pulls it shut, they stand kind of apart, just looking at each other like they're not sure how to say goodnight.

"Well... I'll see you Monday?" she offers. He chuckles and looks down at his feet, nodding. She doesn't know what to do. Should she kiss him again? Hug him? No, that doesn't sound right. High five? This is so new.

He answers for her when he leans in and pecks her cheek, but as he pulls away, she just goes for it and kisses him again. It lasts a little longer than she'd planned, and she has to put her hand over his on her waist to get him to stop.

"See you Monday," he says, waving awkwardly as he drags his chair over to his rental Saturn. She smiles and waves back, getting in her car. But it's a full minute before she can even turn the key, because she's feeling a little light headed.

She didn't exactly come to Twilight expecting to see him at all, but well... she's not going to complain about him this time.

;;

When he gets home, he doesn't really know what to do with himself. He just starts pulling out papers for the festival, working out the budget for decorations so he and Leslie can debate it over lunch on Monday.

Or dinner? Should he ask her to dinner? God, he doesn't know.

He starts writing down numbers and ideas. He's got this budget to figure out, a weekly report to type up, a dirt stain to get out of his jacket, and maybe some sleep if there's time. There's a lot for him to figure out tomorrow.

;;

She feels really happy, but really sleepy once she gets home. Part of her wants to call Ann and tell her what happened and get her opinion... but a bigger part of her just wants to keep this to herself, for a little while. She's not sure why.

So instead, she just makes herself some hot chocolate (with extra marshmallows, because hello, she earned them) and changes into her warmest flannel pajamas.

She needs to get to bed, anyway. There's a lot for her to figure out tomorrow.


End file.
